Hannibal Lokumbe’s The Jonah People: A Legacy of Struggle and Triumph will have its World Premiere, a Nashville Symphony Commission, this spring at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Few artists have conveyed the African American experience in America as movingly and as powerfully as Hannibal Lokumbe. The Jonah People: A Legacy of Struggle & Triumph, his most ambitious project to date, is a reckoning with the past that points toward a redemptive vision for the future.
The story begins in Africa at the gateway to the ships that transported kidnapped people across the Atlantic into slavery. Audiences will experience the journey from captivity, oppression and servitude, the loss of all freedoms, to the struggle to sustain hope for a way forward. Over the course of this powerful and epic production — complete with full orchestra and chorus, nine vocal soloists, a Jazz quintet, an African drum and dance ensemble, and over thirty actors — Lokumbe will celebrate the spirit of those who endured, those ancestors whose gifts of hope, perseverance and resilience have produced successive generations of black visionaries and world-changers.
“The Jonah People: A Legacy of Struggle and Triumph was created to end the suffering of a people, who could then end the suffering of a nation, who could then end the suffering of the world,” says Hannibal Lokumbe. Performances are Thursday, April 13, at 7:00 PM; Friday, April 14, at 8:00 PM; Saturday, April 15, 2023 at 8:00 PM and Sunday, April 16, at 2:00 PM.
The Jacksons will perform one show on Friday, April 21, at 7:30 PM.
Experience the spirit of Motown from one of pop’s most iconic families. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael – five brothers from Gary, Indiana known as the Jackson 5 – rose to fame for their extraordinary musical talent and spectacular choreography. They became pop royalty, and launched what became Michael Jackson’s legendary solo career. Hear original members Tito, Jackie and Marlon Jackson perform hits including “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “Never Can Say Goodbye,” “Sugar Daddy,” “I’ll Be There,” “Maybe Tomorrow,” “The Love You Save,” “Who’s Lovin’ You,” “Goin’ Back to Indiana” and more.
Crystal Monee Hall joins the Nashville Symphony for a concert celebrating Etta James’ iconic album, At Last! on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at 7:30 PM.
One of the most dynamic vocalists of her time, Etta James was a master of multiple musical genres, and the revered vocalist continues to greatly inspire musicians today. James released more than two dozen albums throughout her career, receiving over 30 awards including six GRAMMY® Awards, seventeen Blues Music Awards, inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and GRAMMY® Hall of Fame, and ranking in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Crystal Monee Hall’s varied career has included roles on Broadway (“RENT” and Kristen Chenoweth’s “For the Girls”) and guest appearances on The CW’s “Walker” and HBO’s “High Maintenance.” She has released three original albums.
